2,417 Days Ago ...

Paraphrasing today's cover story of 24H newspaper, 2,417 days ago the IOC announced Vancouver to host the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. At long last, today is the day they begin.

Walking along False Creek this morning, with the Olympic Village across the water and B.C. Place all decked out on the horizon, was incredibly inspiring. And on the streets people are all smiles and proclaiming "It's finally here!"

For all the preparations, for all the planning, for all the anticipation and chasing the Olympic starting line, it's time to quote Sean Connery in The Untouchables, who proclaimed (after pursuing a bootlegger from the Canadian border crossing to a little log cabin, calling a halt to their chase), "Alright! Enough of this running sh*t!"

Another news source this morning also posted word leaked from the Opening Ceremony rehearsals, affirming at least four of the Canadian performers listed in the survey to the right of this column -- a nice mix of new faces and Olympic veteran performers. We could hear one of them singing as we walked to Gastown on Wednesday night. Can hardly wait. Hours away.

There are dozens of items I need to post from the last 48 hours: Sarah Brightman at the Panasonic (client) pavilion; the Canadian Tenors singing "Oh, Canada" at Canada House last night; chatting with Olympic legend Dick Fosbury; Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton. I will endeavor to post more during the weekend.

Have a great Olympic Day, Vancouver, and world. The best is yet to come!

Poll: Colbert vs. Vonn -- Sexiest SI Cover

Which Sports Illustrated cover star is sexier? Olympian Lindsey Vonn, or would-be-Olympic speedskater Stephen Colbert?

Both SI cover stars are obviously competitive and have legions of fans, so which fan base will answer the call and vote for the "Sexiest SI Cover" for the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games? The Colbert Nation? The U.S. Ski Team?

Drag your mouse over to the right side of the screen to vote in this Olympic blog poll now through next week.

Funniest comment posted in favor of either cover athlete will earn a blog pin by mail (mind your manners in the comments, please). Happy voting!

More Whistler Photos

Monday was a bear day at work, so less time for Olympic blogging! But here are some additional photos from the trek to Whistler on Sunday, including shots of the ski lift areas, the streets of Whistler, Look of the Games decoration, the Boutique Olympique, fans and Olympic Torch Relay banners.

The Korean guys in one photo told me they are part of a group of 100+ Korean ski fans who came to British Columbia together for the Olympics, so look for their entourage cheering on the slopes of Whistler. Also, mark your calendars for the Olympic Torch Relay arrival at Whistler on Feb. 5 (see window poster with details in photo).

New Friends and Friendly Reunions

The Olympic scene makes it possible to establish new friendships while renewing contact with Games buddies of past Olympiads. During these first few days and nights in Vancouver, it's been fun to meet some new characters and connect with old friends.

On the work front, Paul -- my colleague/office-mate from 2006 client B.C. Canada Place (several dozen of us P.R. types shared one little room in the Province of British Columbia's little log cabin in the piazza) and Beijing roommate/partner-in-crime -- has been a great host while leading Edelman 2010's range of client projects. It's been tremendous fun to learn more about several Canadian colleagues, and everyone has been very welcoming and collaborative for the newbie from the South (they haven't yet seen the giant Stars & Stripes flag about to go up in my office).

One of the other B.C. Canada Place office-mates, Brian, was host for a fun night at Robson Square last Thursday, and I appreciate the new B.C. Province pins from the occasion (also looking forward to visiting the B.C. hospitality areas open in the Vancouver Art Gallery come Games time).

Around town, this week afforded me some time to check out The Bay (disclosure: a client) and the Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centre within its walls (anything Coke feels like back home in Atlanta). In the pin trading scene, some of "the regulars" trading there include some friendly members of the Pacific Pin Club, which will host a pin "Pre-Games Extravaganza" event this Saturday (thank you, several members, for the invitation!).

Thanks are also due to Alex, the B.C. university student (see photo -- she's wearing a red jacket made of a cotton:recycled Coke bottle blend) majoring in performing arts (think "Glee") who, as a recent new hire for Coca-Cola pin hospitality duties, hooked me up with a free pin (when you visit the Pin Center, be sure to bring a pin to get a pin at their worldwide pin map shown in photos with this post) and a table for trading one weekend afternoon.

The pin centre also offers visitors a daily free drawing (as shown in photo) as well as the option to hold up a real Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch for photos (eventually they will also snap photos and place them onto custom pins -- sounds like chocolate and peanut butter perfect combo to me).

As a few fellow collectors asked questions about my blog, they went out of their way to be sure I met Andrea, creator of the outstanding 2010vanfan.ca blog (so far, she is the only fellow Olympic blogger in town with a custom-designed blog Olympic media pin similar to mine). I'm only starting to read her excellent blog posts, and find the interactive map of Olympic venues to be of great interest (a must read/must view for anyone heading to Vancouver).

My old friend and former ACOG colleague, Nippy, arrived today, and we reconnected for the first time since scaling the Great Wall in China. Welcome to Vancouver!

This coming week will be busy-busy at the office, so time to explore may become scarce. Glad to make new connections and renew contact with familiar friends around town.